Wednesday, February 21, 2007

A ride fuelled by rumours from the US of an opt-out for poker from the UIGEA; rumours from Gibraltar that the financial results announced on 1st March will be better than expected; and the inexorable fact - courtesy of Poker Site Scout - that Party is gradually overhauling Stars in the race to be biggest online site.

When I started playing on Party the peak time was very late for UK players. 3a.m or so on a Friday night/Saturday morning was a good time to be doing business.

Now the geographic profile is dramatically different, and the tables are not yet as bustling, but are moving in the right direction.

Instead of Americans, the tables are full of Scandinavians, French, Germans, Italians, and many from the former Soviet States - Latvians, Belorussians, Ukranians, Kazakhstanis (yes, the land of Borat!) etc.

The Americas still represented by Canadians, Mexicans, Brazilians, and more.

Ironic is it not that residents of those ex-Soviet states now have the freedom to play online poker? Recent news stories suggest even the Chinese will soon have a taste of those same freedoms.

All of which perhaps explains a recent 60% surge in the Party Poker share price; albeit from a very low base.

It also means a more reasonable 'working day' for UK players as the geographic profile moves east. So perhaps we can win big, and still get a decent night's sleep now.

On the downside for the amateur - though perhaps an upside for the share price - it seems logical that the 'big rakers', the multi tablers who would have followed the US dollar to Stars and Full Tilt, will now migrate back to Party as liquidity in those sites decreases and Party numbers increase.

All of which suggests those March numbers from Party should make interesting reading!